The Beast is better than any prince
by Lise Blodeuwedd
Summary: Written for the Kurtofsky Gift Exchange 2014.


Kurt had always believed in love at first sight. He had dreamt of the day he would meet his Prince Charming and fall in love for the rest of his life. Most of his relationships – and also his one-sided crushes – had started that way. All it had taken was one glance, one small action, for him to fall head over heels for a guy. He'd think about the guy all the time, daydreaming of the day when he'd finally be noticed, when he and his eternal love could get together. But life seemed to have other plans, and it just so happened that the love of his life turned out to be a guy he had despised for a long time.

David Karofsky had been his nemesis first, lover later – much later. They had met in High School, and David had bullied Kurt from day one, due to Kurt's slightly effeminate mannerisms (which he admits were much more prominent when he was a teenager). He had called Kurt names, pushed him into lockers and just plainly humiliated him at any possible moment. Kurt had hated him. He thought the tall, strong, and a bit chubby boy was nothing more than a Neanderthal, all brawl and no brains. That impression had lasted for a long time, especially after David seemed to decide to make Kurt his main target. He had tormented Kurt and Kurt had legitimately been frightened of him. But then things had changed unexpectedly. One day Kurt got tired of being harassed and confronted David, and that's what did it. David kissed Kurt. A full on the mouth kiss, his hands cupping Kurt's cheeks, his lips pressing against Kurt's lips firmly. Kurt had hated him even more at that moment. That had been Kurt's first kiss with a boy, and he had always dreamt of kissing a prince, not the Beast. But that had been the moment when Kurt had begun to understand David a bit better. Once the secret about his sexuality was revealed, David's masks started to come down as well. He had apologized to Kurt twice – first forced by his father and the principal, then genuinely and from his heart – and Kurt had understood that David had also been tormented, but his demons had been inside him. Kurt had started to forgive him then. But later David changed schools, afraid his secret would be revealed, and wasn't it just ironic that it was in the new school that he got outed. He was bullied, and the pressure had been too much for the young football player, who had attempted to take his own life. Lucky for everyone involved, he hadn't succeeded. Kurt had visited him on the hospital, shaken. Only a few days prior, David had confessed his love for Kurt, in a very romantic way, if he was being honest with himself, but Kurt had turned him down in favor of his then boyfriend. It wasn't Kurt's fault, really, that he had a boyfriend, and he had turned David down as gently as he could, but he could see in his eyes that it had stung. Then later, when David called him several times, he had chosen to ignore it, thinking maybe he was calling to insist on a date, afraid he'd have to turn him down again, slightly embarrassed by the unwanted attention. Never in his wildest dreams could he have guessed the real reason why David was calling him. So of course he had visited him in the hospital, what else could he do? He had felt guilty, but David had exempted him of any responsibility, saying he understood why Kurt hadn't answered his calls. And once again Kurt had fallen short on his promise; he'd said to David that he'd like to be friends, but he'd failed to keep in touch. Every once in a while he'd think about David and wonder how he was doing, and maybe he'd get his phone and search for his number, maybe he'd even start to type a text or and e-mail, but he never knew quite what to say. What do you say to your bully-transformed-into-sort-of-friend who once had a crush on you? So he'd end up not getting in touch, telling himself he'd do it later, but never really getting to it.

But sometimes in life things seem to fall into place on their own accord. He'd never thought he'd see David again, and he definitely wasn't expecting to see him in a coffee shop in New York. He'd been pleasantly surprised to see him working as a barista and David seemed to like seeing him too, if the free cookie he'd given him was any indication. They'd spoken briefly and exchanged pleasantries, but David was working and therefore did not have much time to catch up. It was only a few days later, however, that Kurt went back there for the first time. The coffee was good, the food was tasty, the place was cozy, and he could keep in touch with David. It was perfect. He became a regular, visiting twice or three times a week, and once in a while David would join him to chat. They talked about everything: from their families to the new movies on the theaters, from their jobs to the country's economy, from celebrity gossip to global warming. Talking to David was easy, and he soon found that even if their interests weren't always the same, their opinions weren't much far from one another. They became friends, and Kurt deeply enjoyed David's friendship. He wasn't really considering anything else, until he mentioned their friendship to Rachel, who immediately asked him if he was interested in David. He wasn't, and he said so. She believed him, but when he kept bringing up David in conversations week after week, she had to ask him again. He again denied it, but upon seeing David again the next day, couldn't help but let his mind drift into that direction. Was he interested in David? From that moment on, he'd kept catching himself thinking about David at the most random moments, or watching him in a different way. He noticed how green his eyes were, and how contagious was his smile. He noticed his large biceps and his more than nice ass, and he could feel his cheeks burning as he quickly averted his eyes. He'd tried not to think about it, tried to tell himself that David was a good friend and just that, but to no avail. He felt himself falling deeper and deeper for the other man with each passing day. So one day he decided he'd had enough of it and, with a little push from Rachel, asked David out. The grin he received in response was enough to warm him all over. They did the classic movie and dinner night, full with goodnight kiss that left Kurt's lips tingling, his mind reeling and his heart racing. The second date was a hockey game, which Kurt had surprisingly enjoyed, despite not knowing much about. David had patiently explained it to him and he'd found himself really cheering for the home team. After the game they'd gone to David's apartment and made out heavily on the couch. It hadn't gone further than that – Kurt was old-fashioned in a very weird way, and David seemed to be just like him –, but it had been more than enough for Kurt to know he wanted more, much much more. The third date was a TV series marathon at Kurt's apartment, which quickly turned into making out, which in its turn became throwing clothes around the room. David blew him in the floor of the living room and he could swear he saw stars. He returned the favor, pleased to hear David moaning and whispering his name. They curled up in the couch afterwards and fell asleep rather quickly. They woke up tangled in each other, smiling broadly and enjoying the warmth of each other's body. The sex that followed was slow and easy, fingers caressing and lips gently worshipping as they danced together.

It hadn't been always perfect, of course. They'd had their small fights, and a few more serious ones, as it's usual for couples, but they'd always been able to talk about them with sincerity, and their feelings for each other had never been questioned. They loved each other, and they'd remained friends as well as lovers. They rooted for each other and they were there when things went wrong. They admired each other and believed in each other, always cheering the other on. They trusted each other more than anything. Kurt knew the love he felt for David wasn't going anywhere, he was it for him. Which was way he'd prepared this special dinner tonight.

They'd been living together for eight months, and Kurt couldn't be happier. He'd waited for the other shoe to drop, for their honeymoon phase to end, but it hadn't yet, and he doubted it would. David and he were happy, they made each other happy, and what else could he want from someone? So he'd decided: he was going to propose to David. He'd planned it for two weeks. He bought the rings – simple white gold with satin finish bands – and hid them with his collection of playbills (David never touched those). He left work early and went to the supermarket to get everything he'd need to prepare a delicious meal. He'd prepared a seafood risotto, some salad and a chocolate mousse for dessert. He'd also changed into a pair of dark jeans and an azure button-down he knew David liked. Now all he had to do was wait, but right now it seemed like the most difficult part.

Finally, after he'd checked the food for the tenth time, he heard the keys on the front door and quickly jumped to his feet to meet David by the door. As soon as he opened the door, Kurt covered his eyes with his hands.

"Wow, what..? "

"Shh… I have a surprise for you. Keep your eyes closed."

"Er… okay."

Kurt shut the door behind him and turned off the lights. He gently guided David to the dining room, where he'd lit candles to cast a soft glow over the room.

"All right, you may open your eyes."

David squinted first, then his eyes opened wide, a huge smile spreading through his face.

"Wow! What's the occasion? Shit! Did I forget something? Is it our anniversary of something?"

Kurt smiled and turned so he was standing directly in front of David. "No, it's not. Not yet, at least. But I'm kind of hoping that someday it will be." Before David could ask any questions, Kurt put one knee to the floor and took the small velvet box out from his pocket, opening it in front of him. "David Karofsky, will you marry me?"

David's mouth had formed an O and his eyes were so wide it looked like they were going to pop out. He stood there staring at Kurt without really saying anything, and Kurt raised his eyebrows.

"You kind of have to answer, Dave."

"Shit! I mean, fuck! I mean, yes! Fuck yes!"

Kurt grinned and took the ring out. He gently took David's right hand and pushed the band around his finger. He stood and Dave took the other ring and put around Kurt's finger. They looked at each other, matching grins adorning their faces, before they kissed, mouths reaffirming the promise of the rings. They broke apart after a few minutes, breathless and still smiling. David's large hands cupped Kurt's cheeks and he brushed their noses together.

"Kurt?"

"Yeah?"

"I love you."

"I love you too."

"Can we eat now?"


End file.
